Kill the Messenger (Hoag, Tami)

STORY BRIEF:Jace is a bike messenger, about 19 years old. He has been taking care of his younger brother Tyler for six years, ever since his mother died. Jace and Tyler live in a room with the Chen family in Chinatown. They fear the police and social services because they don't want to be separated into foster homes. At the end of a long day, Jace has one last messenger run. He picks up an envelope from sleazy attorney Lenny. When he gets to the delivery location, someone tries to run him over and shoot him, but Jace gets away. Jace then learns that Lenny was killed shortly after Jace saw him. The murder weapon was an item Jace had touched. Jace is on the run and hiding from the murderer and the police. Parker is the detective on the case. Parker is suspicious when politically connected detectives from another jurisdiction want to take over the case.REVIEWER'S OPINION:Jace is the star. It feels like a roller coaster ride watching Jace speed through traffic on his bike, survive crashes, outrun the bad guys and stay alive due to amazing survival instincts. He reminds me of a rodent scurrying around back alleys and buildings that no one can catch. This was a good story, excellent writing. I didn't want to stop reading it. It has a happy ending. I'm a lover of romance novels and rarely read straight mysteries, which is what this is, but I enjoyed it. My only complaint was wanting more details at the end about what happened to certain people, see Spoilers below.I don't want to be misleading, so I want to point out that the Jace story (roller coaster ride) takes up less than half of the time. The other half of the time is with Parker the detective, investigating and slowly unraveling the mystery, which was more like a typical investigation story. The best parts of the book were about Jace and his brother Tyler.There were some intelligent and thought provoking comments that I marked and continued to think about after the story. Pages 49 and 75 talk about keeping one's private life secret. Knowledge is power and others will spin it around and use it against you. Page 93: she enjoyed being angry. Anger was the fuel for her energy making her feel bigger and stronger. Page 146: why men kill and why women kill.DATA:Story length: 419 pages. Swearing language: strong. No sexual language or content. Setting: current day Los Angeles, California. Copyright: 2004. Genre: mystery suspense.CAUTION MINOR SPOILERS:I wanted more details at the end of the book. I was confused and wanted to know what Parker was going to do. He was suspended for 30 days and yet he said he quit. I also wanted to see some justice and pain for the DA and Kyle. I wasn't sure what was going to happen to them. The author was vague. Also, I was unclear about Kyle shooting a woman earlier, it may have been accidental. I wanted to know more.

I've read novel when it was just on the bookshops, and twice more by my first two Kindle Paperwhites.Once more I've enjoyed it in my Kindle Fire.I use to read my favourite books more than once. I always find something new aspects of the plot.Monica Beltrami. Montevideo, Uruguay.

Fast delivery. Shipping packaging was great; In a box. Tami Houg is one of my favorite authors and this book did not disappoint. Just keeps getting betterOnly thing I would enjoy is if large print were available at Amazon. Maybe in the future they will offer it.Thank you, Amazon.

Great read. I loved her characters and how she gave them integrity’s, in a world where it seems lacking by many, and how she have them looking out for the well being for others. It was fast paced and did not realized I was near the end of the book until I looked up. Again great read.

Tami Hoag is one of my very top authors - this book kept my attention. I enjoyed the story weave and character building. I will say I did not have time to read consistently for this book.Won't spoil the ending but it is another must have book.Whenever I see a book by Tami Hoag that I haven't as yet read, I buy it without even reading the outline.Enjoy. ml

In my opinion, Tami Hoag stands with other great suspense and crime drama writers. She never fails to whet my appetite for another book from her. The main character, Parker, is a washed out detective determined to get back the respect he lost at the hands of crooked men in positions of high places. I love “kick butt” stories and Parker did exactly that. If I have to find something I didn’t like, it was the author’s repetitive use of referring to designer clothing that several characters wore. Once descriptive became overuse. Read this book. It doesn’t fail to please.

I've read many of Tami Hoag's novels in the past and at first, this one seemed to move a little slower in the beginning but after about the 3rd or 4th chapter, I was totally hooked. It was so fast paced and the characters were relatable right from the beginning. I read the second half of the book in one evening because I couldn't put it down. This was make for a great movie!

I'm happy to report that I enjoyed this book. My first by this author. There were a good many characters, but my three favorites werethe messenger, Jace, his ten year old brother (a genius), and police dective Kev Parker. All three were interesting and added a believable touch. I would recommend this novel.

Amazing! I haven't read a book this fast in ages. Parker is brilliant, Jace is inspiring, and Tyler is heart-melting

Bought is a gift so unsure. But she said she liked the book.

getting interested right off the hop

i nearky put this book down at the beginning as was quite bogged down in procedure and i could not decide whether to like the characters however i am very glad i persevered because once the story became established and the characters explored this book was very enjoyable and exciting. Also the story was surprising which is a change in a crowded genre.

Amazon always comes on time, which I love